


Poor Player

by orphan_account



Series: snktober 2020 [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, No Romance, idk what this is???, tried to be creepy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26740888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Armin can’t remember exactly when he first gained true consciousness, but every moment since then has been a personal hell.--snktober 2020 day one: favorite character
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager
Series: snktober 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946416
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35
Collections: SNKTOBER Month 2020





	Poor Player

**Author's Note:**

> my fave character is armin obviously <3 somehow this turned out kinda dark like idk why … sorry this first entry is super experimental??? i don't usually ever write horror or try to write creepy things but i mean idk LOL excuse the shakespeare inspo lol idk i was feeling fancy 
> 
> most of my snktober entries will probably be AUs bc FUCK canon. a/n at the end will explain the plot of this one more !!

_“_ A poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Shakespeare, _Macbeth_

_\--_

Armin can’t remember exactly when he first gained true consciousness, but every moment since then has been a personal hell.

The barracks are just as he remembers them, remembers them from yesterday, from two months ago, from six years ago. People he hasn’t seen alive in years are breathing, smiling, laughing.

Eren sits across from in the mess hall, frozen in time, bandages wrapped around his head and his eyes angry. Mikasa sits next to Eren, face stoic aside from the tell-tale line between her brows that reveals that she’s worried. Armin has seen that same face, that same furrow, for years now, but he cannot reach over to smooth it out. 

Desperately, more than anything, Armin wants to break free of his constraints and take their hands, take them far away from the barracks, far away from the fate that is destined for them.

He can feel it: the flames licking at his skin, the debris of a city torn down, the well-worn fist of a long-time friend against his cheek.

Armin knows what Eren will become, what Eren already is; he has lived it, and he will continue to live it.

This Eren in front of him, though, knows nothing. 

Mikasa continues lecturing Eren, telling him that throwing himself into the frontlines is useless, that the monsters he seeks to destroy are too powerful to overcome.

Oh, Mikasa, Mikasa. If only she knew. Does she know? There is nothing in her face that would suggest anything of the sort.

Armin searches for a sign, any sign, in Eren’s expression that indicates that he is also aware of who—what—they are.

He has no such luck. Eren’s face looks as angry as he remembers it, the rage drawn clearly in his eyes, the clench of his teeth obvious in the thick lines of his jaw.

“Let’s go,” Eren says, and Armin can do nothing but comply.

He wishes he were the one telling Eren, “Let’s go.” 

Instead of simply leaving the mess hall for their bunks, he would drag him away through the forest, drag him to the walls, drag him somewhere they’ll never have to find out the truth.

Armin feels guilty when he makes these plans, because so rarely does he remember to include Mikasa. He comforts himself by saying that she will always find them, wherever they are, because she is Mikasa and she always does.

As soon as they step outside the mess hall, Armin feels a shift. Everything is the same, yet entirely different; the way the air hits his lungs is entirely new, the sharp focus of the world jarring after so long being mundane. 

His arms move, for once, out of his own volition. “Eren!” he whispers, grabbing onto his friend’s arm. “We need to get out of here!”

Eren looks at him, confused. “What do you mean? Don’t tell me you believe what Mikasa’s saying.”

“Eren, please believe me,” Armin begs, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. “I’m… I know what happens—in the future. Please, please, we’ve got to go… we’ve got to stop it from ever happening.”

“I think you probably hit your head today, too,” Eren laughs, shaking his head. “C’mon, let’s go ask the others how I can get better at working the gear.”

Armin opens his mouth to protest, but finds he can no longer move the way he wants to. He smiles and nods, but inside he screams. 

Eren’s eyes shine in the moonlight, the ghost of a grin dancing across his lips.

Horror wraps itself firmly around Armin’s heart.

Eren knows.

**Author's Note:**

> basically armin’s stuck in a time loop thing where he’s often back in the past but he can’t change anything, so he’s a “slave” (lmao) to what has already happened. Then, for some reason, he’s able to say a few sentences to eren, but as you can see, eren’s aware of the time loop and is okay with it… for nefarious reasons :(((


End file.
